Time To Go: The Cards We Recently Closed or Product Changed

All information about the Amex Gold and Delta SkyMiles Gold Business cards has been collected independently by Miles to Memories.

Credit Card Product Changes and Closures

I recently wrote about our stack of new cards and why we pursued them.  But we’re not just on a hoarding binge – we’ve recently decided on several credit card product changes and closures.  While we’re bidding farewell to a few, it’s just “bye for now” with others.  We realize we don’t need all of our cards all the time, and bringing more nuance to when we do or do not hold certain products saves money and opens up other opportunities.  So then, here are the cards we’ve recently closed or product changed.

Bank of America Free Spirit Travel More World Elite Mastercard

My wife decided to pick up this card in early 2023, and it served its purpose.  We leveraged it for more nonstop flight access to Orlando.  Taking into account the signup bonus and the earning on meeting the minimum spend requirement, we redeemed almost every mile in the wife’s account for our tickets.  This worked out nicely, as we have no plans to fly Spirit again.  Not paying for the second year annual fee was just as easy a decision.  While we could’ve opted to product change the card, we wanted to minimize my wife’s BoA personal card count to maximize future welcome offer opportunities.

Amex Gold

My wife and I each turned down solid retention offers on the Amex Gold card to make room for other options.  We simply did not want to clog up those precious pay over time slots with the Amex Gold.  The fact that the Amex Gold ain’t what it used to be made our decisions even easier.  The annual fee may be increasing to $325, too.  But maybe that means a much-needed refresh is coming?  Perhaps we’ll be back with the Gold if that’s the case, but definitely not in its current state.

Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Amex

This may have been the hardest one to give up recently.  The year two annual fee hit on the Delta Gold Biz, but we needed the slot more than any retention offer or benefit.  Indeed, I feel like the TakeOff 15 benefit on most Delta cards gives us a reason to indefinitely hold such a card, and this card is the best long-term fit for us.  For what it’s worth, I can leverage superior Air France Flying Blue redemptions on Delta metal in the meantime, anyway.  But I imagine we’ll eventually return to this card.

Bank of America Business Advantage Unlimited Cash

I picked up this card a few years ago for the easy signup bonus and have rarely used it since.  I’m not a Preferred Rewards participant and haven’t had any plans to become one, so a 1.5% cash back everywhere card had been sock-drawered.  But I took advantage of Bank of America’s reasonable product change policy to switch to a Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards card.  Even without Preferred Rewards status, I’ve found solid options for maximizing the 3% bonus categories on the first $50k of annual spend.

Next Up:  Chase Sapphire Reserve

It’s time to downgrade my Chase Sapphire Reserve card.  But to what?  I recently considered the Preferred, primarily because I’ve ignored it for years.  Ultimately, and unsurprisingly, I decided that I’ll downgrade to another Freedom Flex.  After I maximize Pay Yourself Back categories this month, particularly warehouse clubs, I’ll say hello to another Flex.  That’ll temporarily bring us up to 5 Freedom accounts until I decide to upgrade back to the Reserve to leverage PYB again.  Indeed, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is probably my favorite card rental on in the hobby.

Credit Card Product Changes – Conclusion

Looking back, we closed fewer cards than I expected in the past several months.  But this stuff can come in waves; I expect later this year will be a more active closing season for us.  Plus, credit card product changes and retention offers (mostly non-Amex ones) have prevented us from closing.  Indeed, it helps to slow things down and consider all options before closing cards.  What cards have you recently closed or product changed?

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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